Why the food system is the next frontier in climate action
yaleclimateconnections.org
yaleclimateconnections.org
Nothing else really matters.
Trying to make individuals give up their stuff is going to backfire and irritate voters.
We should focus on creating large amounts of zero carbon energy.
I am just afraid that we are now past a line where any effective response would work without personal sacrifices. Of course it is still better to regulate manufacturers and companies to do the right things (or not do the wrong things).
But we are now at a spot where we won't only have to think about CO2, we will also have to think about mitigating the consequences of the warming. And that means for example that food which uses 100 times more water per calorie than reasonable alternatives might not be something we can sustain anymore. That might mean we might have to make personal mobility more efficient, etc.
And because we are doing it so late we have to do it on all fronts, because let's face it: what you propose will take too long even if we are doing it a magnitude faster than today.
At an individual level, reduce demand for things that create tons of pollution, habitat destruction and increase our carbon footprint, like consuming products from large scale animal agriculture. Use more public transport when possible, fly less, etc
Systemic level, pressure our politicians to create policies that will incentivise the top most polluting companies to reduce their carbon footprint and pollution [0]
Easier said than done, since big money quasi controls policy making.
So I think the future is going to be interesting, I wonder what it means to live in a world that is 2C hotter.
[0] https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/100-comp...
I am all personal freedom, which is why I am on the side of doing something against climate change since the 90s. The later we respond the more it will have to affect personal freedoms as well.
And it is too late.
Ethically you can compare sacrificing a whole planet and it's ecosystems against the personal freedoms of a small subset of people (both in space and time).
One of those affects all people and future generations. The other doesn't. It still is a shitty choice, sure and I don't like it. But we are too late to ease into a different mode of living comfortably.
You are right that reactance needs to be factored into any crisis managment (especially in democratic systems), this is why I think targeting regulations and manufacturers is better than consumers etc. But there will have to be sacrifices.
Is democracy worth more than the survival of the human race? On way for it to survive would be to actually vote for people who do the things that need to be done.
Ignoring growing problems comes at a price and someone will have to pay it. If we are not paying it now, the whole planet and our kids will pay it later, with dividends.
I don't quite follow.
And I said you have to approach this from both ends - system level and individual level.